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Overview

Norway's odd couple target Canucks

Were it not for their identical training kit, Bente Nordby and
Isabell Herlovsen would appear to have little in common. Nordby,
after all, is a veteran of 165 senior caps who has won every major
honour the women's game has to offer, from the FIFA Women's
World Cup in 1995 to Olympic gold at Sydney 2000. Her teenage
colleague, on the other hand, is appearing at her first global
showpiece, and only after being given leave to miss the start of
her school year.

Yet despite their dissimilarity, the pair form part
of a powerful Norway team who, despite some impressive recent
results in friendlies and UEFA qualifiers, have somehow managed to
sneak into this tournament almost unnoticed. Coach Bjarne Berntsen
is not the first to note that his team have "barely been
mentioned" among the likely tournament contenders, this
despite the fact the Nordic nation remains one of just three to
have lifted women's football's most sought-after prize.

Wednesday will see Berntsen's side begin their
2007 campaign against a Canada team coached by Even Pellerud, the
man who led his native Norway to that famous triumph in 1995. The
reunion will naturally have added significance for Nordby who, by
keeping a clean sheet in all but one of her six matches at those
finals in Sweden, emerged as the Norwegian hero. Then just 21,
Nordby shut out the likes of Germany, USA and Canada en route to
the title, and yet while it is generally accepted that she is an
even more accomplished goalkeeper 12 years on, the 33-year-old
insists that her fifth FIFA Women's World Cup will also be her
last.

"This will definitely be my final World
Cup," said the Norway No1. "No doubts about that. So I
want to make sure I enjoy it. Women's football is very tight
now, there's not much between the top teams. I look around at
the other teams and I think that Germany, the US, China, Brazil,
North Korea and Sweden all have a chance of winning. Hopefully we
can be in there challenging too, I think we have a chance. It's
great to be here but nothing can compare to your first World Cup, I
think. Then, everything was so new and exciting. Don't get me
wrong, it's still great to be involved in such a fantastic
competition, but nothing is new to me in football any more. I look
at the young ones and it brings it all back to me what it's
like for the first time, it's nice to see them so
excited."

Class issues
Herlovsen, having just turned 19 during the summer,
is the youngest of a clutch of U-20 players within a generally
experienced Norway squad, and still has another year of school to
face when she returns from China. In explaining the difficulties
her friends will face in watching her in action, the contrast with
Nordby becomes especially stark. "My friends are very happy
and excited for me that I'm here with the squad but they have
classes at the moment so I don't know if they will be able to
watch our matches. Hopefully they will get some time off, I know
they will be hoping for that."

There will also be a few fingers crossed that Herlovsen is
handed a starting role by Berntsen, although a more likely outcome
is that the teenager will start the match against Canada on the
bench. Nevertheless, having twice made a scoring impact during
Norway's route to the final of UEFA EURO 2005, the youngster
believes she can once again prove her credentials on the big
stage.

"I hope I can play but I know that to do that I
must be very good in training," she told
FIFA.com. "The good thing is that I can play
in midfield or up front, so hopefully that gives me more of a
chance. I would like to play in midfield but I know that this is an
area where we are very strong. I am still learning in the game, and
someone like Solveig Gulbrandsen is a great example for me, I like
her style of play very much." Herlovsen may have a long way to
go before she can aspire to the kind of status currently enjoyed by
Gulbrandsen or Nordby, but her veteran colleague certainly believes
that the ever-improving teenager has all the makings of an
international stalwart.

"Maybe Isabell is not a star of this team
yet," explained Nordby, "but she is getting better and
better every day and is a good player to come on and make an impact
in matches for us. Although she is young, she has experience of
playing - and playing well - in the European Championship.
Obviously the World Cup is another step up but I'm sure she
will cope very well."